Pork butt 101

[Guest]

A question about the pork butt cut.
Previously I bought 3 pork butts from BJs(like a SAMs). These pork butts were consisently round in shape, fine marbling throughout the meat and the meat was a typical light pork color.
However, BJs was out of stock for the July 4th weekend so I bought two butts from a local grocery chain(Giant Food). These butts are boxy in shape, darker color and the marbling is larger and seems to run around the meaty sections.
Both stores label their cuts pork butts but Giant does toss in the word Boston.
I'm confused.

 

[Chris Allingham]

Hi,

The ones I get from Costco are sort of a cross between what you describe. They're bone-in, sort of rectangular or boxy in shape, with fine fat marbled throughout the meat, large pockets of fat between and around the various sections of muscle, and a large fat cap on one surface. Meat color varies from light to medium color, but never as dark as beef.

"Consistently round in shape" is what throws me. Perhaps it includes part of the picnic, the lower part of the shoulder?

Anyone else have any ideas?

Regards,
Chris

 

[Guest]

Hi Chris,
Round is the best way I can think of describing the shape of the butts from BJs.
Later yesterday, I remembered your pages at http://www.concentric.net/~Callingh/pork2.html
The butt I did yesterday looks like the ones on these pages. I wish I had remembered the pages earlier because I would trimmed the excess fat before smoking. Yesterday's butt was a little on the greasy side but flavor and texture were excellent.